Active Users:822 Time:15/11/2024 10:02:38 AM
I played a demo of this and I am very excited to play it through Matrimony Cauthon Send a noteboard - 31/08/2009 05:59:15 AM
It looked like a blast. How was the online play?


The atmosphere is good, the voices are great, the gadgets are neat.

The fighting is good, although a little easy. If no guns are involved, Batman is almost always going to win pretty easily. If there ARE guns, get the hell out of the way- you can definitely die.

The combat has a kind of rhythm to it- all there are is a "hit" and a "counter" button, but if you get into the flow of the fight and hit them at the right times, you can rack up a lot of combo damage.

I really, really like how they handle health and XP. You get XP whenever you defeat an enemy, and you get health back proportional to the amount of XP. BUT, the XP isn't "absorbed" until the battle is done. It neatly eliminates the whole "Run away for 10 seconds until I have full health again" problem that's been around for the last few years, while still avoiding the whole "Oh look, there are medkits strewn around the level" approach of the olden days.

XP is used to buy abilities. Upgrade your Batrang to a Double or Triple throw that can be used every few seconds, upgrade your decrypter's range and accuracy, upgrade your fighting combos to deal more damage after less hits, "tune" your explosive gel so that it explodes in proximity to enemies, or so that you can remotely detonate specific gels instead of all at the same time. And more!


If you buy the PS3 version, you get a free download of a series of challenges in which you can play as the Joker. They're great!

Joker plays very differently than Batman. He can't take as much damage, but his limbs are longer. He's not as strong, but he swings his arms so much that it's much easier to hit multiple enemies. He doesn't have the batarangs and grapples, but he does have a gun that has ONE bullet in it per challenge.




Finally, the graphics. They're very good. As the game progresses, Batman gets more and more torn up. There's a bit of pyschological horror in this game, and Batman does take quite a bit of abuse. Tears, scratches, and minor cuts begin to show by the end of the game. It's very intimidating.



So! Two thumbs up. Plus, the PS3 owners get some extra love, which happens so rarely that I almost feel obligated to buy it.
Reply to message
Batman: Arkham Asylum is very good - 31/08/2009 01:32:47 AM 365 Views
I played a demo of this and I am very excited to play it through - 31/08/2009 05:59:15 AM 357 Views
Re: Batman: Arkham Asylum is very good - 02/09/2009 02:42:04 AM 354 Views

Reply to Message